


Further Adventures of Ashildr and Clara

by merryghoul



Series: Femslash Ficlets [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 1920s, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Auroras, Australia, Bells, Character Study, Chases, Clouds, Community: dw_allsorts, Community: femslash100, Community: femslashficlets, Community: fic_promptly, Confusion, Curtain Fic, Demons, Dialogue-Only, Diary/Journal, Doctor Who References, Dominance, Dragons, Drowning, F/F, Fairy Tale Retellings, Ficlet Collection, Flirting, Hotels, Maps, Mirrors, Mythology - Freeform, No Dialogue, Pining, Prophetic Dreams, Self-Doubt, Sensuality, Submission, Swordfighting, Temporary Character Death, Tentacle Monsters, The Golden Bird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-02 19:16:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6579103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryghoul/pseuds/merryghoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty ficlets themed around various fairy tale-inspired prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fox

**Author's Note:**

> My table for this is [here.](http://merryghoul.dreamwidth.org/307063.html)
> 
> Note to any newsletter editors: All fics are not part of a connected story.
> 
> Fics written for femslash100: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 15, 18
> 
> Fics written for femslashficlets: 5, 12, 19
> 
> Fics written for fic_promptly: 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: quest  
> femslash100 prompt: [#126, fairy tale](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1788915.html) (for #490, remainder week)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Clara was close to winning the simulation of "The Golden Bird" she was trapped in. She was cast as the youngest daughter. She shot the golden bird. She listened to the advice of a talking fox and stayed in a terrible inn. She won the things she needed to win: the golden bird, a horse, a princess. She survived the betrayal of her digital brothers. She married the princess, knowing that the princess was not real. But there was one thing Clara was missing: Ashildr, who had disappeared when the simulation started.

The fox rubbed her body around Clara's leg. "Cut my head off." The fox's voice suddenly sounded familiar to Clara.

"Ashildr?"

The fox stopped rubbing Clara's leg. "Clara, you know it's me?"

"I didn't know you were trapped inside the fox body. I mean, you disappeared and the simulation hid your voice."

"So you know I'll survive being beheaded."

"But what if you lose your real head? You can't regenerate it."

"I think we have no choice, Clara."

The fox picked up an axe with her snout. Clara picked up the axe as the fox lowered herself to the ground, stretching out her neck. Clara chopped off the fox's head.

The decapitated fox turned into Ashildr. Clara hugged Ashildr. The simulation of "The Golden Bird" started to fade away. Clara cupped Ashildr's face and kissed her passionately. Ashildr returned the favor, a smile on her lips.

Now free from the simulation, Ashildr and Clara looked for their TARDIS.


	2. Castle in the Clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: castle in the clouds  
> femslash100 prompt: [#224, clouds](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1790174.html) (for #490, remainder week)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Ashildr and Clara weren't sure what was chasing their TARDIS, but they knew they needed to escape it.

As they were fleeing the object that was chasing them, Clara came up with an idea: "Let's hide in a cloud."

Ashildr was puzzled. "How can we hide in a cloud?"

"It's not hard. We fly to a big, thick cloud. We make sure there's no thunder and lightning near it. We have the TARDIS rest inside of it."

"Can the TARDIS even float on top of a cloud?"

"The Doctor's done it lots of times. Why can't we do it?"

Ashildr nodded. "Why not?"

Ashildr and Clara steered their way to the biggest and safest cloud they could find. They found a place to rest the TARDIS inside of the cloud, making sure they had enough cloud cover to hide the TARDIS as the cloud moved. It was as if the cloud turned the TARDIS into an impenetrable castle, if only for a short while.

The thing that was pursuing Ashildr and Clara couldnt find the TARDIS. The thing gave up and left after going around the cloud a couple of times.

"Told you it would work," Clara said, kissing Ashildr.


	3. Me's Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: prophecy  
> femslash100 prompt: [#306, dream](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1791260.html) (for #490, remainder week)
> 
> Note: The Scientists are a race mentioned in the tie-in book _The Legends of Ashildr._
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Me was desperate to get off Earth and travel with someone after the Doctor left her. She made deals with anyone she recognized was not of Earth: the Scientists that came to her while she was living in England during the time of the Plague, Leandro, the Time Lords. All of them failed in their promises.

The only person who could take her off of Earth was in her dreams. And of all people, it was Clara. This confused Me, because Me saw Clara die. Me remembered the Doctor scolding her for Clara's death. And yet here she was, walking inside...a TARDIS' console room?

Me was pulling levers and pushing buttons with Clara, travelling somewhere she didn't catch in her dream. They had landed somewhere. Clara grabbed Me's hand, and the two of them walked out of their console room into what appeared to be a dining room for an American-style diner. Before Clara and Me could leave the diner, Me woke up.

For years, Me didn't realize she had seen her future in her dreams, that the person who would actually take her around the galaxy was Clara. She was delighted when she learned her dreams have come true.


	4. Sword Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: sword  
> femslash100 prompt: [#293, sharp](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1790952.html) (for #490, remainder week)
> 
> Rating: Teen

There was a time where, between Ashildr and Clara, Clara had the most experience using a sword, if only because of her adventures with the Doctor. Before they reunited on Ashildr's hidden street, Ashildr had learned to fight with various swords over the years in various situations: fighting her rivals, in various battles and wars, defending the Earth against alien threats when the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Ashildr was now just as capable as Clara was with a sword. Taking a break from some of their adventures, Ashildr and Clara practiced their sword fighting moves in a gymnasium in the TARDIS.

The two elected to fight using Viking swords, a type of sword both women were familiar with. Clara took the first swing, but Ashildr was able to keep up with her movements. To Clara's surprise, Ashildr was able to knock her sword out of her hand.

After Ashildr knocked Clara's sword out of her hand, Ashildr pointed the tip of the blade on Clara's throat. She ran the tip of the blade near Clara's throat before dropping the sword.

Ashildr left kisses down Clara's elongated neck. Clara knew Ashildr wanted their sword fight to be moved elsewhere.


	5. Waiting Kills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: spell/curse  
> femslashficlets prompt: [#055: dialogue/no dialogue](http://femslashficlets.dreamwidth.org/76427.html) (this fic has no dialogue)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Clara rescued Ashildr from a sea monster who had entwined one of its arms around Ashildr's leg in an attempt to drown her. By the time Ashildr was out of the water, she was unconscious. Clara took Ashildr to the TARDIS' medical bay. There was nothing Clara could do but wait until Ashildr's body repaired itself, even if she squeezed Ashildr's right hand.

Sometimes Ashildr's resurrections took minutes. Sometimes they took hours. Clara was happy the Mire medical kit still worked in Ashildr's body, helping her survive anything and everything she encountered in their travels. But Clara considered waiting for Ashildr to recover from her injuries and accidents a curse. She never knew how long the resurrections took. And sometimes Clara wouldn't know if the Mire medical kit would stop working on Ashildr or not. Clara hated the wait to see if Ashildr would survive.

Moments later, Ashildr started coughing up water. When the water was out of Ashildr's lungs, she took a big breath. The Mire medical kit was still working inside of Ashildr.

Clara squeezed Ashildr's hand, happy she was still breathing. But Clara still had to wait until Ashildr was healthier to go on their travels again.


	6. Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: mirror  
> femslash100 prompt: [#6, mirror](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1792125.html) for #490, remainder week
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Ashildr and Clara weren't sure what was following them. They looked like demons that had escaped from an illustrated copy of Dante's Inferno. But they knew they couldn't keep running from them.

"Do you see some sort of container near us, Clara?"

"I think I do," Clara said.

"There's a mirror up ahead. I'm going to break it while you get the container."

Ashildr did what she promised to do and Clara obeyed her. Using a nearby cane, Ashildr broke the mirror while Clara brought her a glass jar.

"Help me pick up the shards and put it in the glass," Ashildr said. "Let's see if they really are demons."

Ashildr and Clara picked up the shards. Clara could pick them out faster without any fear of bleeding, so she managed to get more shards in the jar than Ashildr. But once the jar was filled and most of the bigger pieces of the mirror were in the jar, Ashildr grabbed Clara's hand and ran, hiding around a corner of the building they were in. Once they were both hidden, Ashildr peeked around the corner. She saw the demons going for the shards of the mirror.

"Did they fall for our trap?" Clara asked.

Ashildr turned to Clara. "They did. I've always heard that demons are so vain they like to look at their reflections in mirror shards. Maybe they're not real demons of legend, but these creatures certainly function like them."

Satisfied, the two ran away from the demons.


	7. The Noble's Doorstep Heir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: lost heir  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Author's choice, author's choice, _The Noble's Doorstep Heir_](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/89506.html?thread=4272802#cmt4272802)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

The first thing Clara and Ashildr found while on a visit to Greece was a baby in front of the doors of their TARDIS. The baby was swaddled in rags. It was crying.

Clara picked up the baby. "We should find its parents."

"I think it's hungry," Ashildr said. "Shouldn't we feed it first?"

Clara looked at Ashildr. "Does our TARDIS have baby food?"

 

Clara and Ashildr navigated their TARDIS to the nearest palace from where they found the baby. They discovered the baby was a boy along the way. After pleading with the guards to see the king and queen, they were granted an audience with them.

"We found this baby on a mountain," Ashildr told the queen and king. "We thought it might be yours."

"We don't have a child," the queen said. "But we've always wanted one."

"We can adopt this one, Merope," the king said.

Ashildr and Clara's eyes widened. They knew who this baby was going to grow up as. They were powerless to say anything or stop it or they could possibly destroy time as they knew it.

The king took the baby from Clara. "I name you Oedipus, son of Polybus and Merope."


	8. Here Be Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: dragons  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Any, Any, Deciphering the legend/key to a map.](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/178933.html?thread=7843061#cmt7843061)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

During their travels, Ashildr acquired an old map of the Earth. On the map was a dragon in what was now considered Greenland, and a sea serpent was drawn in what was now considered the Arctic Ocean.

"It's been a while since I've read Greenlandic, but I think this says there are dragons in this part of Greenland," Ashildr said.

Clara blew a raspberry. "That's impossible."

Ashildr raised her eyebrows. "Wanna bet? You won't believe what you'll find in Earth's past."

"You're on."

Clara and Ashildr steered their TARDIS to the time when the map was made. They landed on the northeastern coast of Greenland. Once they were there, they waited.

"You sure you didn't read the map wrong?" Clara said.

Ashildr shook her head. "I know the difference between the maps where dragons and sea serpents were added as decorations on maps and maps with dragon sightings." She grabbed Clara's hand. "Be patient."

Moments later, a red dragon, with scales that looked like chain mail and leather wings like a bat's, appeared in the sky.

Ashildr poked Clara in her shoulder with her own shoulder. "See, Clara? There are dragons here in this time in Greenland. Here be dragons."


	9. Home Sweet TARDIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: labyrinth  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Doctor Who, author's choice, the TARDIS is home now.](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/156483.html?thread=7171395#cmt7171395)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Like any TARDIS, Clara and Ashildr's TARDIS were connected by a series of hallways. There was the entrance into the dining room to their diner that they couldn't change to anything else, followed by their console room. After that, a hallway lead to a series of other hallways. Various rooms lined the hallways of Clara and Ashildr's TARDIS. And there was no illustrated guide to help anyone who went past their console room. At times, Clara and Ashildr's TARDIS could feel like moving around in a labyrinth that had only one way out.

Despite how intimidating the passageways of Clara and Ashildr's TARDIS were, Clara and Ashildr were able to make it home. There was a place for them to fight with swords and a place where they could go through the various treasures they acquired on their travels. There was a library with books and another library for Ashildr's journals she resumed writing after traveling in the TARDIS. There was a garage where Clara could store a motorcycle Ashildr helped her steal. Clara and Ashildr couldn't go home again. Ashildr didn't have a home to speak of. Clara was technically dead. Why not turn their TARDIS into their home?


	10. Tracking Ashildr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: Once upon a time  
> femslash 100 prompt: [#316, beginning,](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1788002.html) for #490, remainder week
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Once the Doctor had a room in his TARDIS devoted to tracking Ashildr through time and space. He tried to hide the room from Clara. Clara was clever enough to find the room anyway. The Doctor later claimed the room was surveillance. Clara didn't believe the claim.

Inside the room were various things from Ashildr's exploits. Books she was mentioned in. Artifacts she had stolen. Wanted posters she was on. And then, some time after 1800, Ashildr seemed to disappear, much to Clara's dismay.

The thing Clara cherished the most were pages ripped from Ashildr's diaries. Ashildr ripped the pages out, hoping to forget her past for good, but the Doctor managed to save them. In those ripped pages, Ashildr wrote about meeting Clara in her Viking village. Clara was always attracted to Ashildr, but she never knew Ashildr felt the same way.

The diary pages broke Clara's heart. Clara had no way of knowing she'd ever find Ashildr again or if she was was still alive.

Clara left the room exactly the way she found it, not so the Doctor wouldn't notice it, but because she wanted the room to be a shrine for Ashildr if Ashildr was dead.


	11. Heat Wave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: ring  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Doctor Who, author's choice, a sweltering TARDIS](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/149158.html?thread=6809254#cmt6809254)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

The cloister bell rang in Ashildr and Clara's TARDIS. Ashildr and Clara were in another room in the TARDIS when the bell rang.

"What's that noise?" Ashildr said.

"Cloister bell. Been a while since I heard it in the Doctor's TARDIS."

"What does it mean?"

"Two things. One, we're in trouble. Two, we need to get to the console room."

The TARDIS was heating up. The insides of the TARDIS were growing brighter. The heat in the TARDIS was causing Ashildr to sweat. She ran into the TARDIS' console room, Clara following her.

"What's making the TARDIS get so hot?" Clara asked Ashildr.

"Some sort of heat ray," Ashildr said. "Someone has pointed it at our TARDIS."

"Why?"

"I don't know why. We've got to get the TARDIS away from it."

It took some time and the two of them desperately hanging on to the TARDIS console, trying not to thrash everywhere as the TARDIS was spinning out of control. But Clara and Ashildr steered the TARDIS away from the heat ray. Their TARDIS went back to a normal temperature, and Ashildr didn't feel like she was burning up again.

"Now, where were we going again?" Ashildr raised her eyebrow.


	12. Stand and Deliver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: witches & wizards  
> femslashficlets prompt: [#056: domination/submission](http://femslashficlets.dreamwidth.org/78030.html)
> 
> Rating: Teen

Clara asked Ashildr to dress up as the Knightmare for her because she never experienced the Knightmare in person while she was alive. Ashildr agreed. Ashildr couldn't put together the actual Knightmare outfit or she'd upset her timeline. Ashildr did get together some basics from the TARDIS' wardrobe, though: a domino mask, a coat, boots, and everything else she somewhat had when she was the Knightmare.

Technically, Ashildr was dressed as a footpad, since she had no horse. She even refused to equip pistols. But she had other intentions in mind later with Clara, things that didn't require riding a horse or pistols.

Once she was in costume, she sneaked behind Clara and gripped her waist with her right hand. She grabbed Clara's wrist with her left hand, gently bending her back. This was Ashildr's display of dominance for Clara. Playful dominance, but still, dominance.

Dressed as a highwayman, Ashildr still had to play the part. She cleared her throat and whispered in Clara's ear "Stand and deliver" in the Knightmare's voice.

"How'd you do that voice?" Clara asked Ashildr.

"I fought in several wars and hung around men," she said in her normal voice. "I learned to imitate their voices. I was called a witch and killed for it when I was caught. Then I came back to life again. Now, if you'll excuse me, you're interrupting my robbery." Ashildr cleared her throat again. "Now give me your jewels and the whole lot," she said in the Knightmare's voice.


	13. Sleeping River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: endless tower  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Any, Any, Sleeping Beauty](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/368540.html?thread=12289948#cmt12289948)
> 
> [A remix of this fic.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5481575/chapters/12684248)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Clara and Ashildr were walking up the stairs of a keep in a French castle.

"The message we received on the TARDIS monitor did say 'Find me on the top floor of this keep, right, with two x's?'" Clara asked Ashildr.

"Correct."

"Feels like we've been walking up this tower for days."

"It's only been...a couple of hours, I guess?"

"You're only saying that because I bet you're used to castles like this."

Ashildr paused. "I am. And I was bored by all of them."

"Because you saw people die in them?"

"Mostly paperwork. Some games. And I never could see the military activity. But yes, I did see people die in these castles. And all of it was boring. This climb, however, is more interesting."

"Because I'm here."

"Of course."

Clara and Ashildr reached the first floor of the keep and split up. Ashildr found the signal alerted Clara.

The two went back to the empty room to find a room with a spinning wheel and River Song sleep by said spinning wheel.

"How are we going to wake her?" Clara asked.

"I haven't a clue. We should take her back to our TARDIS. She's not too heavy, right?"


	14. False Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: gods & demons  
> fic_promptly prompt: [any, any, The Demon with the Matted Hair](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/130304.html?thread=6096128#cmt6096128)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Ashildr and Clara had been there before. A creature terrorized a small village on the planet Izanaki. Its fur was covered in clumps of dirt and soot tangled in its hair. The creature also had the audacity to declare itself a demon. The villagers were peaceful and did not employ weaponry of any kind. The creature, on the other hand, scared, threatened, and even demanded human sacrifices from the villagers. When Ashildr and Clara arrived at this village, they were the only ones that knew how to use any type of weaponry. It fell to them to save the village from this "demon."

Ashildr shot arrows into the creature. Clara threw a club and a spear at the creature. Both of them attacked the creature with swords. As a last resort, they both started to punch and hit the creature. Ashildr, Clara, and the weaponry all became tangled in the creature's hair.

Then Ashildr claimed she had a lightning bolt inside her, something so powerful that, if the creature were to eat her, it would explode while it was swallowing her. The petrified demon untangled Ashildr and Clara from its fur and ran away, leaving the villagers alone for good.


	15. Aurora Australis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: secret valley  
> femslash100 prompt: [#491, atmosphere](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1792957.html)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Ashildr motioned Clara towards the monitor their TARDIS' Index File was on. "Have you ever heard of this before?"

Clara shook her head. "Don't think so. What is it?"

"It's a valley in Australia. No one has been able to find it—not on Earth, anyway. It doesn't exist on various maps from Earth."

"What's so special about it?"

"At certain times of the year, this hidden valley has aurora australis sightings. The aurora australis is reddish. It's said to be one hundred percent visible from the valley."

"You know what I'm thinking, Ashildr?"

"Date night?"

Clara nodded. "Date night."

The two steered their TARDIS towards this Australian secret valley.

 

Ashildr and Clara landed their TARDIS at the bottom of this secret Australian valley to view the aurora australis. The two walked out of their TARDIS and hung near its entrance just before the aurora australis appeared.

The valley slowly filled up with brilliant red light raising further and further up into the atmosphere. It didn't last long, though. This particular aurora australis was around for only fifteen minutes.

Those fifteen minutes allowed Ashildr to put her hand around Clara's waist. Clara did the same in kind during their date night.


	16. The Unicorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: Unicorn  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Author's choice, author's choice, dressing up like a flapper in the '20s.](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/2014/03/18/tuesday-march-18-2017-theme-retro.html?thread=9494815#cmt9494815)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Clara and Ashildr found themselves near the street Ashildr used to be mayor of in the late 1920s. This was a time when the other Ashildr, the one who called herself Mayor Me, was still mayor. Both of them were dressed as flappers, to fit in with the people passing by the hidden street.

"Aren't you afraid of bumping into yourself here?" Clara asked Ashildr.

Ashildr shook her head no. "A friend invited me to go for a ride around London. When I was mayor here, I declined the invitation. But now that I'm travelling with you, I can finally take my friend up for the invite."

"Did you personally decline the invite?"

Ashildr shook her head no again. "I let it sit in my residence on the street. I never officially declined the invitation. In fact, I received more invitations from my friend after I received the first invitation."

"So are we meeting up with your friend later?"

"I'm going to assume we do."

A car pulled up to where Clara and Ashildr were. A brown-haired woman in a flapper's dress was smiling at the two of them.

"Clara," Ashildr said, "this is my friend Ada Mullins, the Unicorn."


	17. A Spark in Me's Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: quest  
> [fic_promptly prompt](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/239229.html?thread=9519485#cmt9519485) (a poem)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Over time, Me believed she couldn't get attached to people. She couldn't explain why she always looked youthful to everyone who knew her, people who had no knowledge of the Doctor or the Mire. And she hated thinking about losing the people she was close to. She shed names and identities to protect herself, until she reached the point where she gave up and called herself Me. She could never accept the people in her life as transient.

There was one thing that gave her joy. Years ago she had written about the one time she met Clara Oswald. Me's account of meeting Clara was translated from the several languages she had learned over the years until the account was in English. Her finite memory couldn't allow her to learn every language she knew. Me couldn't remember the Viking village she grew up in or her father. But she could still see Clara's face. She remembered her voice, even if Me was sure Clara couldn't speak her language. Me wanted to meet Clara again, but she had no idea if that would happen. All Me could do was reread her account of meeting Clara and hope they would meet again.


	18. A Long Walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: wings  
> femslash100 prompt: [#492, hotel](http://femslash100.livejournal.com/1796089.html)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Clara looked at the room key the clerk gave her. Ashildr and Clara's room number was 166. The key Clara was given read 199.

"Didn't the clerk say we had room 166?" Clara asked Ashildr.

"He did."

"We have to walk all the way back to the front desk to get the right key. It took us, what, five minutes?"

Ashildr nodded. "Five minutes."

Clara sighed. "We may as well walk back. I knew we should've stayed in the TARDIS."

Clara and Ashildr walked back towards the front desk.

"This walk is nothing to me," Ashildr said. "I walked all the time when I was a queen."

"Did you ever take a break?"

"They only let me take a break when I needed to use the loo, when someone needed me to sign something, and when I had to sit in a coach to go between my palace and elsewhere. The walking drove me crazy. It drove me to fake my own death and go elsewhere. I much prefer this five minute walk to get out of this hotel wing to get a room key."

"Let me guess. Because I'm here with you."

Ashildr nodded. "Because you're here with me."


	19. Consider Flirting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: three/third time  
> femslashficlets prompt: [#055: dialogue/no dialogue](http://femslashficlets.dreamwidth.org/76741.html) (this fic has dialogue only)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

"Can Missy hear us, Ashildr?"

"I muffled her ears. She shouldn't be able to hear us. I still regret working with the Time Lords to capture the Doctor, but at least I was able to take some of their technology from them while we were brokering a deal."

"And of course you're clever enough to steal some of it back from yourself."

"I was too focused on trying to get revenge on the Doctor to care. But at least things stolen by me from me are safe from anyone else, even if it does take a while to learn about the theft."

"Hate to say it, but I think we'll need Missy."

"I agree."

"What we're going up against isn't going to kill us, but it's going to take a long time to beat it. She has that thingy that shoots lasers out of it, but she's the only Time Lady that knows how to use it. But I don't want her in our TARDIS. She might steal it from us."

"I have an idea. She has a vortex manipulator on her arm. I'm going to go ahead of you with Missy and keep an eye on her. You fly the TARDIS and meet me there."

"Sounds good."

"Do we tell her she can't kill us now? I never met her when the Time Lords met with me to capture the Doctor. And she hasn't met you after you died."

"No. I don't want to make her reconsider her flirting."


	20. Ashildr's Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dw_allsorts prompt: good & evil  
> fic_promptly prompt: [Any, any, Memories are like ghosts, they haunt you whenever you let your guard down.](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/383402.html?thread=12612522#cmt12612522)
> 
> Rating: General Audiences

Ashildr couldn't remember everything about her life, but some moments would stick with her even without the need to look at something she had written while in the moment. Whenever Ashildr was alone, the ghosts of her past would catch up with her. Everything and everyone she thought she failed would flicker through her finite memory. People she tried to save. People that didn't appreciate her saving them. And worse of all, her children, all of them pleading for her to save them from the Black Death. It made her feel like a monster. Over the years, she thought she didn't care about her failings, but in reality, she still did.

Clara knew when Ashildr had those moments of self-doubt. She'd go over to Ashildr and squeeze her hand. Clara's presence didn't get rid of those fleeting bad memories of Ashildr's—for as long as she lived, they'd still be there. But with Clara around, Ashildr reminded herself that she wasn't a monster and that, whether her intentions were good or not, she cared. Ashildr forgave everyone she wronged and everyone that wronged her. Then she moved on; the prospect of new adventure was more exciting than dwelling on the past.


End file.
